Mikel Arteta and Arsenal are gaining new admirers every week.
The Gunners returned to winning ways at the North London Derby with an impressive 1-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur. It was a great win when you consider the fact that players like Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori all missed the game.
Arsenal still need to win big trophies to get the complete recognition that they deserve, but they are definitely on the right track.
Even Rio Ferdinand is impressed with one thing the Gunners have been doing behind the scenes.
Rio Ferdinand shares what Arsenal do that even Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t at Manchester United
Arsenal are becoming one of the most complete sides in the world.
The Gunners aren’t just scintillating in attack, but they are robust in defence as well. Every player works hard for each other and they are collectively brilliant.
Arsenal have shown over the last two years that they are capable of scoring all types of goals. They can pass the ball into the back of the net, score long-range screamers and even pull off cheeky dinks from anywhere in and around the box.
The one area where the Gunners are above everyone else right now is set-pieces. Nicolas Jover has transformed Arsenal in that department, and Arteta’s side have an advantage on that front on every club in the world.
Ferdinand is impressed with Arsenal’s ability in set-pieces. He hailed the way they work on them before admitting that the great Manchester United sides under Sir Alex Ferguson never gave set plays any thought.
He said on FIVE: “Sir Alex Ferguson at Man United, we didn’t do set-pieces until we played against Tony Pulis’ team, Stoke, when they had Rory Delap on the long throw.
“We never did attacking set-plays. The only defensive set-play we did was about throw-ons from Stoke, when they used to throw the ball into the box. That’s it!”
Ferdinand further added: “I used to hate standing at the back in the cold, doing set-pieces. The worst thing. No player enjoys it.
“But, the difference at Arsenal will be they are now seeing the benefits and they will be sitting there, licking their lips, going: ‘Bring it on. Give us another set piece drill, come with something new’.
“That guy (Jover) is going to be walking about now like he is the don!”
Two incredible stats that prove Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover is a genius
Arsenal are the set-piece kings in football right now.
The Gunners, since the start of the 2023/24 season, have scored more non-penalty goals from set pieces than any other team in the Premier League.
That is a stunning record in itself, but Arsenal’s numbers in Europe are sensational too.
Since Jover joined Arsenal’s coaching staff in 2021, the North Londoners have scored 42 goals from set-pieces. That’s more than any other club in Europe’s top-five leagues.
If Arsenal can keep this going and improve even more, they will become one of the most complete teams of all time.
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